Professor Geoff Chivers is director of the Centre for Hazard and Risk Management at Loughborough University, and holds the Chair of Risk and Professional Development. This unusual title brings together the main areas of his expertise. He has been involved in many areas of risk management since the 1960s and has also carried out a lot of research and conducted a great deal of teaching in the field of professional and vocational learning and development. A chemist by original profession, Professor Chivers became Professor of Continuing Education at the University of Sheffield before moving to Loughborough, where he is working to increase the focus on professional competence in the field of risk management, including the competence of line managers and supervisors, as well as that of technical specialists.